Eric's Hodgkins Lymphoma Battle
Donation protected
In early April, Eric wasn't feeling well and had swollen glands. After some "encouragement" he when to Urgent Care. He was told he had a viral infection...he tested negative for influenza and mono, things that were going around at the time.
Not feeling much better, glands still swollen, back to Urgent Care on May 13, where he left after spending much of the day doing various tests. He left with a strong suspicion of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and an appointment to see a surgeon on Monday.
Monday came and he met Dr Robert Weber, who has a humor not far from Eric's. Eric feels comfortable and confident with Dr Weber. Things moved quite quickly for the next few weeks.
Surgery to obtain a lymph node biopsy happened the next day. By Friday we received the preliminary result, characteristic of Hodgkin Lymphoma. We still waited another week for the confirmatory result from Mayo clinic.
In the mean time, Eric met with Dr Karen Gremminger, Oncologist at Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology (FVHO). He spent 2 hours meeting staff, learning about possible treatment plans and progression of treatment.
May 31st, we got the Mayo result. Inconclusive. The biopsy was taken from a node that was so swollen and inflamed that they could not determine which lymphoma it was. There are 2 main types of lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin, and Hodgkin. There is 3 types of Non-Hodgkin and 61 sub-types. The course of treatment relies on an accurate diagnosis.
So, June 7th he was back in surgery for another biopsy. By week's end, the preliminary diagnosis was again favorable to Hodgkin type lymphoma. June 20th, Eric met again with Dr. Weber and Mayo confirmed the diagnosis of Hodgkin.
Next steps, meet again with Ladonna Hensley, APNP at FVHO for more treatment education and one more surgery for a mediport, (which is a catheter that is put in under the skin near the collar bone to administer treatment.)
Chemo starts 7/7/16
Eric is taking this like a champ. He seems to be in good spirits, he is very anxious to get treatment started, kick cancer's butt and move on.
Thank you for any prayers and gifts.
Not feeling much better, glands still swollen, back to Urgent Care on May 13, where he left after spending much of the day doing various tests. He left with a strong suspicion of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and an appointment to see a surgeon on Monday.
Monday came and he met Dr Robert Weber, who has a humor not far from Eric's. Eric feels comfortable and confident with Dr Weber. Things moved quite quickly for the next few weeks.
Surgery to obtain a lymph node biopsy happened the next day. By Friday we received the preliminary result, characteristic of Hodgkin Lymphoma. We still waited another week for the confirmatory result from Mayo clinic.
In the mean time, Eric met with Dr Karen Gremminger, Oncologist at Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology (FVHO). He spent 2 hours meeting staff, learning about possible treatment plans and progression of treatment.
May 31st, we got the Mayo result. Inconclusive. The biopsy was taken from a node that was so swollen and inflamed that they could not determine which lymphoma it was. There are 2 main types of lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin, and Hodgkin. There is 3 types of Non-Hodgkin and 61 sub-types. The course of treatment relies on an accurate diagnosis.
So, June 7th he was back in surgery for another biopsy. By week's end, the preliminary diagnosis was again favorable to Hodgkin type lymphoma. June 20th, Eric met again with Dr. Weber and Mayo confirmed the diagnosis of Hodgkin.
Next steps, meet again with Ladonna Hensley, APNP at FVHO for more treatment education and one more surgery for a mediport, (which is a catheter that is put in under the skin near the collar bone to administer treatment.)
Chemo starts 7/7/16
Eric is taking this like a champ. He seems to be in good spirits, he is very anxious to get treatment started, kick cancer's butt and move on.
Thank you for any prayers and gifts.
Organizer
Eric Helgeson
Organizer
Oshkosh, WI